Johnson Vs. Radical Republicans: The Road to the First Impeachment

Illustration of Andrew Johnson receiving notice of his Impeachment.

When Andrew Johnson, president of the United States, was impeached by the House of Representatives on February 24, 1868, it was the near climax of the political battle that had been raging between Johnson and Republicans in Congress ever since Johnson had assumed office. Johnson had been a Senate Democrat from Tennessee, the only Southern Senator to stay with the Union, when he was selected to be Vice-President on President Lincoln's reelection ticket in 1864. Ascending to the presidency after Lincoln's assassination, Johnson faced the daunting task of uniting a nation that had been deeply divided after four years of war. The key issues in postwar Reconstruction were how to readmit the former Confederate states and how newly freed slaves would be given rights. 

Andrew Johnson

Only after a month in office, Johnson began to issue pardons to ex-Confederates, with the exception of former political, military leaders and wealthy plantation owners, allowed former rebels to reclaim confiscated property. Johnson also allowed the southern states to draft state constitutions which abided by the thirteenth amendment. These new southern governments then quickly began to implement "black codes" laws which largely deprived newly freed slaves of their rights. When Republicans in Congress resumed session in December, they expressed outrage over this turn of events.

Republican Senator Thaddeus Stevens

 Led by the so called "Radicals", Congressional Republicans sought to pass legislation in opposition to the president's Reconstruction policies. Republicans passed a bill in 1866 which would expand the power of the Freedmen's Bureau, only to have it vetoed by Johnson. That same year, Congress passed the Civil Rights Bill of 1866, which would declare ex-slaves to be citizens. This time, Republicans managed to override Johnson's veto, the first time in American political history. From that point, Republicans began to introduce their own Reconstruction strategy, that would divide the South into military districts and would strictly enforce rights for freed slaves. 

In 1867, over Johnson's veto, Republicans passed the Tenure of Office Act. This act, considered today to be unconstitutional, required the approval of the Senate when dismissing cabinet members. Johnson, in open and deliberate defiance of the act, fired Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, who supported the Radical Republicans. Declaring Johnson to be in constitutional violation, House Republicans soon began impeachment proceedings against the president. 

Sources include:

http://www.crf-usa.org/impeachment/impeachment-of-andrew-johnson.html

http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/impeach/imp_account2.html

http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/impeach/imp_tenure.html

Afghanistan Development (GAO Document)

The formal title of this document is "Afghanistan Development: U.S. Efforts to Support Afghan Water Sector Increasing, But Improvements Needed in Planning and Coordination". The report was completed on November 15, 2010. The full report is about 75 pages long.

 The document begins by describing water as a substance "critical to the stability of Afghanistan" and as an "essential part" of the reconstruction of Afghanistan.  Since 2002, the second year of the war in Afghanistan, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Department of Defense gave given out $250 million for the funding of water projects in Afghanistan. The goal of supporting Afghanistan's fledgling water sector  is both shared and supported by the US and and the Afghan government. Strategies' to improve Afghanistan's water system have included improving access to safe drinking water, improved irrigation, and development in the water sector. The 2010 Inter-Agency Water Strategy by the US government identifies short, medium, and long-term goals that the US wishes to see completed between 2010 and 2014. The US government apparently expects to increase water sector development between 2010 and 2014 and estimates that to fund such projects will require about $2.1 billion.

Another important feature in the report is the emphasis on greater inter-agency cooperation. This emphasis comes from the Government Performance and Results Act and several other strategic documents relating to the US mission in Afghanistan. The GAO reports that it has included such importance of inter-agency cooperation in other strategic reports, especially when those agencies are involved in counter-terrorism activities.

Sources include the link to the original document off the Government Accountability Office Website
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-138